People in H&S: John M. Crawford;

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"I believe that sometimes you have to slow
down in the short run in order to speed up
in the long run. In other words, it pays to
invest in a good foundation to have a
better house. This is an attitude, an
approach, with which you have to come to
terms for yourself."
From his first trip to Beirut as a senior
accountant to his recent tour as partner in
charge of a major German engagement,
John M. Crawford, now head of EO's
International Department, has made this
approach an integral part of his profes­sional
life.
Jack, who returned to Executive Office
lastyear, heads a department that operates
in large part as a clearing house. It has
administrative responsibility for our
offices in Japan and South America and
shares responsibility with Deloittes for
offices in other parts of the world. EO
International also provides communica­tion
between domestic and international
clients, functioning as liaison where
necessary.
"We have to realize that there are dif­ferences
in the way things are done inother
parts of the world," Jack explained, "and
then attempt to make these differences
work to everyone's advantage—diplo­matic
dealings, you might say. In general
the department sees that all bases are
touched, that the quality is there and, most
important, that the client is satisfied."
Jack brings to the department the back­ground,
temperament and experience to
fulfill these duties. Although he has spent
many of his years with Haskins <SL Sells in
international work, his career with the
Firm has been a varied one. Not only did
he spend twelve years in the New York
office audit practice, but he has been in
charge of recruiting and professional
development for that office, and he
headed the EO Research Department
from 1968 to 1971.
Born and raised in Montreal, Jack began
working for an accounting firm at a time
when the Canadian system, modeled on
the British, hired high school graduates in
a form of apprenticeship. When Jack's
12 family decided to move to New York City,
the firm attempted to dissuade him; finally
convinced that he was going, they pre­pared
three letters of introduction. Two
were sent directly to other firms, while the
third Jack carried with him. "I am a bit of a
wary Scotsman," Jack said, "and I knew in
that case what had been written about me."
An interview with James Anderson, a fel­low
Scotsman at Deloittes in New York,
landed him a job on a six-month trial basis.
Things proceeded well, and Jack decided
to become a CPA. He began to develop the
skills necessary to obtain certification. "I
started going to Pace University at night. It
took me six years to get my degree, but I
was so eager to become a CPA that I would
have done just about anything."
A year after the move to Ne wYork, J ack's
father died, leaving his son responsible for
the family's welfare. Following a brief
return to Canada ("where the Deloitte
people were extremely kind and helpful")
the Crawfords decided to settle perma­nently
in New York, the city Jack had
chosen for his future home.
In 1954, two years after the Deloitte
merger with Haskins &. Sells, Jack was a
senior accountant with our Firm. Aramco,
an oil-producing client, was building a
railroad for the king of Saudi Arabia. This
required a separate audit and Jack was
asked if he would like to be the senior on
the job. "After discussing the matter with
my new bride Eileen, I responded with a
definite 'yes,'" Jack said. "But after I was
processed and ready to go, the assignment
was canceled."
Yet Jack seemed destined for the jour­ney,
for New York partner Lin Boyle soon
asked if he would like to join the Aramco
engagement. Jack was off on his first over­seas
trip and the first step on a path he
would follow for much of his professional
life. "It took us two days to get there," he
recalled, "flying in an Aramco-owned
DC-6. When we arrived in Beirut about
5:00 a.m., ready to be served breakfast, we
found the nightclubs still going strong with
music and belly dancers. That was my first
impression of Beirut'.'Jack was responsible
for three district audits in Saudi Arabia,
which gave him the opportunity to travel
within the country and become familiar
with some of its people. This led to such
exotic experiences as sharing strong Ara­bian
coffee with a Bedouin tribesman in
his tent on one of Jack's ventures into the
desert.
In 1959 Jack became a manager and was
asked to assist New York partner Walt
Ruschmeyer in hiring temporary help for
the busy season. What started off some­what
informally soon became a full-time
project, including visits to college cam­puses
to interview students. "Pretty soon I
was out of audit and into personnel," Jack
said. "It's hard to evaluate exactly what you
arelookingfor whenyou are recruiting. Of
course there are the obvious factors like
grades and class standing, but the intangi­bles
are somewhat more difficult to pin­point.
You work almost by instinct." Yet, if
Jack cannot verbalize the criteria, his
instincts must have been right, for many of
those he hired have gone on to successful
careers with the Firm. Some, like Fred
Heinzeller, Dan Bailey, Bill Rowe, John
Coblentz, Peter Hoffman and Tom Lock-burner,
have become partners. It's a track
record to be proud of, and Jack admits to a
justifiable satisfaction.
J ack remained responsible for recruiting
and professional development in the New
York office until 1964, the year in which he
was admitted to the Firm. At the dinner
given for new partners, Tom Hogan and
Lin Boyle informed him that he was to be
the partner on the Aramco engagement.
He would also be working with Schering-
Plough, an international pharmaceutical
company, at a time when the Firm had the
opportunity to take over all of its foreign
audit work. Jack was off and traveling
again, this time to Europe as well as to
Saudi Arabia. "That experience offered
me even more exposure to the interna­tional
side of our practice than I had pre­viously
had," he said.
After five busy, productive years John
Schumann asked Jack to speak with
Emmett Harrington in Executive Office.
Emmett's proposition to Jack: head the
Research Department. "I had some reser­vations,"
Jack admitted, "but Emmett
assured me that my qualifications suited
the job. It turned out to be one of my more
valuable experiences with the Firm."
Jack recalls asking John Tillotson, the
department's anchor man, just what the
Research Department was. "John's
response was simple, yet astute: It's what­ever
you want it to be.' I thought of it as an
People m H&S:
John M. Crawford